The Bearded Trio

Dan Dudych looks back at the incredible Kurtz/Joiner Archive (KJA) at Empire Con L.A. 2019. Rather than trying to explain what the “KJA” are, I thought I’d take the explanation directly from their website: www.kurtzjoinerarchive.com The Kurtz/Joiner Archive is the collaboration of Gary Kurtz (Star Wars producer /filmmaker and vice president of Lucasfilm up until 1981) and Jason Joiner (Collector and Guinness world record holder for the largest Star Wars collection and film historian) In 1991 they met at Gary’s production offices in London to talk about Gary’s work on the Star Wars films. Jason had been interviewing crew members for the previous two years in an attempt to preserve and record as many of the crew’s memories as possible for future generations of fans. When they met, it was a genuine meeting of minds, as Gary really liked that Jason was finding out the real history from the crew that made the films. Jason was amazed by how much knowledge Gary had retained and soon real...

Gary Kurtz: 1940 – 2018 It's incredibly sad to hear the passing Star Wars producer, Gary Kurtz.  The extremely talented producer who is so ingrained in the legend that is Star Wars that we know this news will hit hard with all Star Wars fans. Family statement re passing of Gary Kurtz With deep love and respect, the family of Gary Kurtz is sad to share that he has passed away. He died from cancer on September 23rd 2018, in North London, England. Gary was a beloved husband, father, grandfather, friend, colleague, and mentor, whose work and talent spanned filmmaking, photography, music, and cinema history. He was a Marine, a world traveller, an outdoorsman, and a kind, compassionate human being. His life’s work was to share the wonder of audio-visual storytelling through the art of film. Well-known for his work as the producer of American Graffiti, Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, and The Dark Crystal, Gary was passionate about telling stories that shared the humanit...

Irvin Kershner, Frank Oz, Kathryn Mullen, Jim Henson and Gary Kurtz with Miss Piggy, Yoda and Kermit on the set of The Empire Strikes Back.  So much happy in this photo although Yoda is not impressed with what Kermit is doing behind. The Bearded Trio - The Site For Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, John Williams and a whole lot more. THE BEARDED TRIO ON FACEBOOK THE BEARDED TRIO ON TWITTER THE BEARDED TRIO ON GOOGLE+ THE BEARDED TRIO ON PINTEREST CLICK HERE FOR FACTS ON STEVEN SPIELBERG CLICK HERE FOR FACTS ON GEORGE LUCAS CLICK HERE FOR FACTS ON JOHN WILLIAMS

Gary Kurtz and George Lucas on the set of Star Wars.  Filming the medal ceremony scene.  Is Kurtz pointing out that those two get medals but leave the Wookiee out?  I wonder The Bearded Trio - The Site For Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, John Williams and a whole lot more. THE BEARDED TRIO ON FACEBOOK THE BEARDED TRIO ON TWITTER THE BEARDED TRIO ON GOOGLE+ THE BEARDED TRIO ON PINTEREST CLICK HERE FOR FACTS ON STEVEN SPIELBERG CLICK HERE FOR FACTS ON GEORGE LUCAS CLICK HERE FOR FACTS ON JOHN WILLIAMS

Sir Alec Guinness and Star Wars producer, Gary Kurtz hang around an old Ford Transit van.  On the set of Star Wars.  Nice hats. The Bearded Trio - The Site For Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, John Williams and a whole lot more. THE BEARDED TRIO ON FACEBOOK THE BEARDED TRIO ON TWITTER THE BEARDED TRIO ON GOOGLE+ THE BEARDED TRIO ON PINTEREST CLICK HERE FOR FACTS ON STEVEN SPIELBERG CLICK HERE FOR FACTS ON GEORGE LUCAS CLICK HERE FOR FACTS ON JOHN WILLIAMS

Directed by Jim Henson and Frank Oz, produced by Gary Kurtz along with matte paintings by Industrial Light & Magic to name a few, The Dark Crystal is worthy of being mentioned on The Bearded Trio.  Not only that the movie is a cult 80's classic and to be honest we need no excuse to show behind the scenes photos from a movie especially when Jim Henson is shown producing his magic. A Garthim A Skeksis crew photo The Dark Crystal behind the scenes photo of Frank Oz, Irvin Kershner, Stuart Freeborn The Bearded Trio - The Site For Steven Spielberg, George Lucas and John Williams THE BEARDED TRIO ON FACEBOOK THE BEARDED TRIO ON TWITTER THE BEARDED TRIO ON GOOGLE+ THE BEARDED TRIO ON PINTEREST CLICK HERE FOR FACTS ON STEVEN SPIELBERG CLICK HERE FOR FACTS ON GEORGE LUCAS CLICK HERE FOR FACTS ON JOHN WILLIAMS